Porkchunker
03-22-2007, 08:25 PM
Washington Post, "World press roundup," Saturday, 24 Feb
Excerpts of editorials from newspapers around the world:
Independent
Overfishing the oceans
LONDON — The madness of the overfishing of our oceans shows no signs of abating. A research paper presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco this week shows that, as fish stocks in coastal waters become more and more depleted, trawlers are moving further out to sea. ...
Fishing fleets are also wrecking marine biodiversity in the areas in which they operate. Bottom trawling is responsible for the loss of more than 95 percent of the coral from deep-sea reefs. The dragnets of the trawlers destroy in the space of a few hours pristine ecosystems that have often taken thousands of years to grow. In the process, the homes of countless rare species are lost. The destruction of the coral also destroys a valuable natural record of the Earth's changing climate. This is ecological vandalism.
What makes this rape of the seas even more outrageous is that our governments are subsidizing the process. ... The desire of governments to support fishing is understandable. But it makes no sense to sponsor overfishing. There is only one sane course of action: subsidies should end, bottom trawling should be outlawed, and a system of strict international regulation for high seas fisheries must be established.
The warnings of what will happen otherwise are unequivocal. According to a major scientific study last year there will be virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the middle of the century if current fishing trends continue. We are at risk of wiping out one of mankind's oldest sources of food and doing untold damage to one of our planet's fundamental ecosystems.
Excerpts of editorials from newspapers around the world:
Independent
Overfishing the oceans
LONDON — The madness of the overfishing of our oceans shows no signs of abating. A research paper presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco this week shows that, as fish stocks in coastal waters become more and more depleted, trawlers are moving further out to sea. ...
Fishing fleets are also wrecking marine biodiversity in the areas in which they operate. Bottom trawling is responsible for the loss of more than 95 percent of the coral from deep-sea reefs. The dragnets of the trawlers destroy in the space of a few hours pristine ecosystems that have often taken thousands of years to grow. In the process, the homes of countless rare species are lost. The destruction of the coral also destroys a valuable natural record of the Earth's changing climate. This is ecological vandalism.
What makes this rape of the seas even more outrageous is that our governments are subsidizing the process. ... The desire of governments to support fishing is understandable. But it makes no sense to sponsor overfishing. There is only one sane course of action: subsidies should end, bottom trawling should be outlawed, and a system of strict international regulation for high seas fisheries must be established.
The warnings of what will happen otherwise are unequivocal. According to a major scientific study last year there will be virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the middle of the century if current fishing trends continue. We are at risk of wiping out one of mankind's oldest sources of food and doing untold damage to one of our planet's fundamental ecosystems.